by Julie Eads
Chuckling Liam responded with, “Yes, and a good one you will make.”
Sighing in relief I noted that Liam was still smiling as he and Eleanor excused them. “Oh, and princess,” announced Eleanor from the doorway, “We still need to talk about you striking Thora in the face,” and off they went, making their way up the stairs, laughing together.
I had been hoping that I had gotten away with that one, but I should have known better. It seemed I would still have to apologize to Thora but I was glad that my parents had agreed to my decision to fire Knoll and hire Eirnan in his stead. I was happy that I would be able to give my sister her partner back as well as rescuing Eirnan from that evil witch.
Following my parents from the room I quickly made my way up the stairs, and got into bed. Closing my eyes I was soon lost in thoughts of the nights events. I was starting to learn that nothing was impossible in this new world that I was coming to love. Declan would come back in three days, then he and I could spend as much time together as possible. I also knew that it wouldn’t be long before I had to choose my animal. Secretly I thought I knew which I would choose. For now, however, I was looking forward to seeing Declan again and to discovering what might come of our lives. It was just that I hated having to wait three long grueling days.
Chapter 13
“I am growing impatient; I have to see him!” I practically yelled at Willow, who was standing outside her cottage shaking her head in annoyance.
“Carmina,” she told me sternly, “It has only been two days since his animal ritual.” Gently placing her hand on my arm she sighed before continuing more calmly. “Tomorrow he will be all yours,” she promised. “Anyway,” Willow reminded me as she leaned against the wooden door frame, “Shouldn’t you be busy planning Maggie’s party?”
“I know,” I responded desperately, “But I can’t help worrying about him. How do you know he’s okay?” Despite myself I couldn’t stop from keeping the pain that Declan had been in on the night of his animal ceremony from flashing into my mind. It took everything I had to fight the urge to not give in to the restlessness of my feet and run to the cabin where he was staying. Even though I knew that Eirnan was standing watch I still couldn’t be assured that Declan was alright; I wouldn’t be until I was back in his arms.
Willow cleared her throat, “Carmina, I am enjoying your company so much today,” she joked and I thought I saw, from the corner of mine, her roll her eyes. Then she turned to me and said, “Now if you will excuse me,” and without so much as another word she turned, entered her cottage and firmly closed the door in my face!
Standing there, both surprised and annoyed at the same time there was little I could do. I had spent a lot of my time with Willow planning Maggie’s party, whilst trying to keep my mind from Declan who was sadly still suffering in pain. Ever since my parents had agreed to me ‘firing’ Knoll and to my taking Eirnan on as my Guardian, there had been a lot to plan. I was nervous of Knoll’s reaction, seeing as he wouldn’t know any of this, at least not until Maggie found out. No-one else knew besides Willow and my parents who, I am surprised to say, I have now officially started calling mom and dad.
I knew that all hell would break out when Thora found out that Eirnan would no longer be hers to push around and abuse. Whenever she was around I found myself starting to clench my hands by my side. I couldn’t stand her, and the thoughts of the way in which she treated Eirnan plus what she had said about Taya, just made me want to hit her again. ‘Maybe,’ I thought, ‘it would be a good idea to at least tell Eirnan before the party about the new arrangement.’ It seemed that no-one else seemed to agree with me and my father didn’t appear to want to chance anyone getting wind of it. He had decided he would have to sit down with Thora the night before so she could select a new guardian which, for some reason, he seemed un-excited to do. I was apparently making the way for new rules, certainly as no-one had ever stolen someone else’s guardian before. However, I just told my father and mother that some changes needed to be done and beside they would be good. Finally taking the hint that Willow was sick of me and I wasn’t going to be allowed back outside I left, making my way back to the castle. Or at least that is where I intended going. And yet! Although I knew I wouldn’t be able to see him I still decided to take the long way home and walk past the cabin where Declan was staying. I decided I would use the excuse, if asked, that I was checking on Eirnan.
Walking along I found myself enjoying the sight of the rolling green hills and the beautiful bright sky, as the sun shone down on my pale skin. It was an unusually warm day and I loved every minute of it. Also, I was starting to feel at home more and more here in the valley, even though the nightmares were increasing. I kept picturing Jacks decaying body coming to life and shouting things at me. It was frightening and every night the dreams grew more and more intense. It felt as if something bad was coming, and no matter how much I tried to push the feeling away, it grew harder and harder to ignore.
Shrugging off the cold chills that had over taken my body I cleared my mind as I saw Eirnan siting on a stump just a few feet in front of the cabin. He showed signs of fatigue, and I felt bad for having asked him to stay and watch over Declan. But, even with the feelings I had, and no matter how much I disliked it, I had still had to ask those I cared about to make sacrifices to protect Declan because of the vulnerable state he was in. As I approached I cleared my throat in order not to startle Eirnan. Quickly standing to his feet smiling a tired smile at me, even though I quickly reassured him he need not get up on my account. Having stood for several more minutes he finally agreed I was right and quickly sat back down as I sat across from him, being careful to tuck my sun dress carefully around me.
“I can’t let you see him,” Eirnan said simply.
“I know,” I agreed, “Actually, I was coming to keep you company.”
He raised an eyebrow, shrugging his shoulders as if he didn’t completely believe me. “Well,” he said, “How you have been?”
I was surprised by the simplistic question. “I am doing okay,” I replied, pointing my hand towards the cabin as if asking without having to say anything how the patient was.
Eirnan knew I was worried about Declan so he just smiled and said, “He will be okay Carmina.” He looked at me for a few more seconds as if he wanted to ask me something else but didn’t know how. Finally he asked, “How is Taya doing?”
I tried to fight the smile that was spreading across my face. Eirnan and Taya had been trying to spend some time together ever since Declan’s birthday party. “I haven’t really seen much of her, but I am sure she is doing well,” I told him as he rubbed his hand across the back of his head.
“Will you tell her I asked about her?” he asked, once he was sure I wasn’t going to say anything else.
Nodding my head I suddenly jumped to my feet, directing my attention to the figure standing at the window of the cabin. My heart began to race; I hated that he was so close and yet I couldn’t see him. He was standing right there, what could it hurt if I gave him a quick hug? As if he could hear my thoughts Eirnan stood up, much slower than I had and made his way to where I stood. He placed his hand on my shoulder breaking my eye contact with the figure in the cabin. Reluctantly I looked away from Declan’s shadow and gave my attention to Eirnan. “I don’t know why you do this to yourself,” he said, “You know that you can’t see him.” I shook my head sadly, knowing that he was right; I knew that I was just making it harder on myself, but it was so hard to be away from him. Eirnan then told me it would be best if I left and as hard as it was to do so I reluctantly agreed with him.
As I continued on my way to the castle an ominous feeling settled over me; one I couldn’t shake off. I was beginning to wonder if I should tell someone about them and the bad dreams, but I quickly shook the thought off. The last thing I wanted to do was to take the attention away from Maggie once again.
Arriving at the gate I saw Keenan so I waved to him, wondering how he was going to feel about m
y decision to let Knoll go as my guardian. I was tempted to ask him as I knew that the guardians had sworn an oath that they wouldn’t break; something similar to doctors, they couldn’t tell anyone anything that a royal had told them confidentially.
Luke and Ben were the ones who let me through the gate; I hadn’t spent much time with them but they were really nice and seemed to always be happy. I wondered how it would be to have a twin. Even though they looked so much alike I could, somehow tell them apart. Maybe it was because one was almost always wearing green, whilst the other wore blue; perhaps they did this on purpose so help people could tell them apart.
I was just about to ask if the repetitive color scheme was intentional, when I saw Thora walk out of the Guardian’s meeting room. She stood glaring at me for what seemed like several minutes, before flipping her hair then trotting off. Sprinting quickly I went to catch up with her. My father had been getting on at me to apologize so I figured now was my chance. Besides I would rather say sorry when no-one else was around to hear me; that way she wouldn’t get the satisfaction of having an audience. “Hey!” I called after her, “Can you hold up a sec? I need to tell you something.” She continued walking and just when I figured that she had ignored me she stopped and turned to face me.
Scowling at me Thora crossed her arms across her chest. “Make it quick, I have places to be,” she said.
Despite wanting to make a snarky comment I held my tongue. “I am sorry about the other night,” I called out, trying not to look at the yellowing bruises surrounding her eyes or the swollen nose lying between them.
Rolling her eyes she replied testily,” I am sure that you are; now run off princess! You have done your good deed for the day.”
I hated that I had to put up with her smart mouth so between clenched teeth I asked her, “What is your problem with me?”
She pointed to her face and yelled, “You hit me in the face!” as if I had asked the densest question in the world to ask.
“No!” I screeched, managing to stop her before she walked off again. “You have been a total bitch to me ever since I got here. Even before I knew who you were you have had it in for me.”
She took a sharp step back, breaking the distance between us and practically getting in my face. Holding my hands behind my back, I reminded myself over and over again not to hit her as she turned on me venomously.
“You make me sick,” she spat out nastily! “Here you are, so new to everything here, and you get this entire village,” she continued, extending her arms and pointing to everything around us. “You’ve even got him!” Her voice had grown deeper, and I could see by this point she was physically shaking.
“So, this is all about Declan?” I asked, surprised as if it wasn’t obvious already.
“You catch on quickly princess,” she said impatiently, which was fast becoming her trade mark, or at least it was when she spoke to me. Turning she started to walk away, calling over her shoulder, “If it wasn’t for you, he would have been mine. I was so close.” and it seemed as if she was saying it more to herself than me. I stood feeling angrier than I had been the night I had hit her. So, Thora wanted the one thing that meant the most to me but there was no way in this whole world that I would let her get anywhere near Declan. I didn’t care how many times I would have to punch her to get it into her head; I would never let her take him away from me. It felt horrible, I had only just found him and already someone else wanted him. My hands shook in anger.
It was strange how the universe always had a funny way when it came to affecting my life. One minute it would give me something wonderful, and then next it would hold it over my head; as if I was not allowed to have something without having to fight for it every day. If I was honest I was growing tired, mentally and physically, with the confusion that had become my life. Determined not to give in I set my mind on one course. I only had a week to prepare for Maggie’s party so for now that was all I was going to allow myself to worry about.
Returning to the castle I made my way into the living room, which was empty. Everyone had been busy lately. My parents were tied up with legal matters; which were nothing really to do with me and which, I was told, there was nothing for me to worry about. At least every time I asked that was all they would tell me. Willow had been keeping Maggie busy with healer training, and Knoll had taken Declan’s place to help the guardians out. These days I only seemed to see my family at breakfast, and occasionally dinner time. Everyone was keeping busy so they usually skipped lunch altogether; which was great because I hadn’t been hungry lately.
Pulling the lavender folder out that held my party plans, I sat down and picked up the new laptop that Eleanor had given me. She had never said it but I guessed it was to help me keep my mind off Declan. Recently I had managed to check up on my friend Kate. Although I knew I couldn’t write to her or anyone else from my old life, realizing if I did, the danger they could be put in. No-one had actually said anything about not looking at someone’s social profile, so I had decided to look at my dear best friend’s profile. It looked as if I had not disappeared. She looked so happy and I wondered if she even missed me at all; wondering what they had told her as to why I was no longer around. I had asked Knoll, during a rare lunch together one afternoon, but he had said that they had just informed my school and people I knew that my family and I had moved away and would never return. But that was all he would say. It seemed as if they were being vague about everything.
Closing the profile page I sighed and pulled myself together, realizing I had to move on from my old life and just accept my new one. Strangely I was growing to love the village and most of the people in it. But, it was just hard to never to be able to say goodbye to those I had known and love in my old life. Also, I couldn’t help but miss my dog Banksey the most. Not having grown up with a sister or brother, he had become my only friend when we had first moved to our old house. I missed walking him and I missed how he always cuddled up at the foot of my bed. I feared more than anything that he had been put down. Trying to fight the tears, the thought of losing him made my stomach knot and turn. He had been more than just a dog to me and I hated that he had to be punished because of Jack and Stephanie’s lies.
Grabbing everything I needed I headed upstairs to my room; it felt strange sitting in the living room alone. Once in my room I threw everything onto the bed then slipped into a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. Having done my venturing for the day I decided to stay in for the rest of the evening. I kept reminding myself that Declan would be home tomorrow. Yet, tomorrow felt as if it was years away.
As I pulled up the few party ideas I had written down on my laptop, I heard a loud crash down stairs. Looking at the clock I saw it was only ten after three. No-one would be home until five o’clock or later. Quickly jumping to my feet but not knowing exactly what to do I hesitated. It was a long shot that an outsider would have got into the castle, especially as they would have to get through ten or more guards. I couldn’t help remembering what Keenan had said at the guardian meeting on my first day here; that there were people here who would hurt me the first chance they got. When would there be a better chance other than me being home alone?
Quietly I walked to the bedroom door and turning the key I locked it before pressing my back against the cold wood and sliding slowly down to the floor. Sitting there shivering I suddenly decided I was tired of always being scared. Besides it was only probably someone who had come home earlier than planned, and besides I told myself, I was just allowing my active mind to run riot. After a few minutes I made a decision, and carefully opening the door I quietly made my way downstairs. Following the noise I made my way to the kitchen. As I entered the room my heart seemed to stop; it was unbelievable what or who I saw standing before me.
Running the back of my hand across my eyes, I needed to check if what I was seeing was really real; sadly it was. Astounded I watched as a familiar figure turned towards me, his teeth bared. “Hello, Mina-Bear, I was just about to make m
y way to your room.” It was Jack and he stood there looking just the way he had the day he had died. I wanted to run or even scream but I was frozen. My lips refused to move, and my feet felt as if they were made of concrete blocks. I just stared at Jack; my pretend father. The one who, I had assisted Knoll, in burying! Here he was standing in the kitchen, rummaging through the drawers until he found what he was looking for, a large butcher knife.
The light from the kitchen shone on the knife, and before I knew it he was standing in front of me; only this time he didn’t looked like Jack, yet he still did! He seemed almost transparent, and where I should have been able to see through him I saw someone else. It was a man I had never seen before. It was someone with dark hair and dark eyes that was looking back at me through Jack’s familiar face. Just as I was about to scream I found it was too late as he jabbed the knife into my side before disappearing into thin air; as if he had never been there at all. The only proof being was the knife protruding from my right side.
At first it all felt too surreal. ‘Maybe I had fallen asleep,’ I thought. The dreams along with the bad feeling I had been experiencing were always so real. However when the excruciating pain filled my body, and blood slowly began flowing onto the cold marble floor where I was lying, it had become too real. With an effort I tried to scream but as my life slowly poured out of me I couldn’t find the strength and before I knew it everything went black as I fell into a dark realm of nothingness.
Maggie………
Maggie walked into the house, tired after a long day of casting spells and learning herbs with Willow. She was ready to have a warm cup of tea and relax so she headed directly to the kitchen. As she made her way into the room she discovered Carmina, her sister, who had returned home to them less than a month ago, lying on the white marble floor. However, the marble beneath her was no longer white; it was slowly changing to red. Maggie stared in horror as her sister’s life flowed out of her stiff body; she looked almost as pale as the marble floor. A large knife was in her sister’s side.